Les Miserables. By Victor Hugo
Characters:
Jean Valjean- He is an ex-convict who turns his life around after a gracious bishop gives him shelter when no one else would. Valjean steals the bishops silverware, and when the police catch Valjean, the bishop covers for him and makes Valjean promise to be an honest man. Valjean is the adopted father of Cosette and is very protective of her.
Fantine- She was a nice girl who leaves her hometown to go to Paris and she had an affair with a guy named Tholomyes. Her relationship with him left her alone, poor, and pregnant. She is the mother of Cosette. It was difficult for her to get a job because of her illegitimate child ( Cosette ). She then resorted to prostitution to care for Cosette.
Cosette- She is the illegitimate child of Fantine and Tholomyes. Fantine first gives her to the care of the Thenardiers, who abuse Cosette and spoil their other 2 daughters. Valjean buys Cosette from the Thenardiers and they move to a shady place in Paris. She later falls in love with a man named Marius.
Javert- A bitter and pityless police officer who is after Vanjean. He arrests Valjean after Valjean rescued Marius (Cosettes love) from the barricades. Valjean pleads with Javert to let him take the wounded Marius to his grandfather. Javert lets him go and ends up killing himself by jumping into the river and drowning.
Marius- He is a nice young man who is the love of Cosettes life. Valjean saved him in the barricades and pulled his wounded body through the sewers. Valjean then took Marius to his grandfather. Marius and Cosette end up gettiing married. But when Valjean confesses about being an exconvict, Marius prevents Cosette from having any contact with Valjean.
Short Summary: Les Miserables starts out with ex-convict, Valjean, trying to find some shelter but everyone shuts their doors on him. But then a kind bishop gives Valjean his hospitality. When Valjean is caught for stealing the bishops silverware, the bishop covers for him and makes Valjean promise to become a good, honest man.
Meanwhile, Fantine falls in love with a man named Tholomyes who gets her pregnant and then leaves her. Alone with her child (Cosette), Fantine returns to her hometown to realize that she'll never get a job with an illegitimate child. She gives her daughter, Cosette, to the cruel and nasty Thenardiers. Fantine resorts to prostitution to pay for Cosette and is then arrested by Javert. But Valjean gets in the way, Fantine fell ill and wanted to see her daughter, and Valjean promises to get her. But when Javert found out about Valjeans criminal past, he arrests Valjean at Fantines bedside and she dies of shock.
A few years later, Valjean escapes from jail and buys Fantines daughter (Cosette) from the Thenardiers. Valjean and Cosette are forced to go into hiding. One day Cosette falls in love with a man named Marius, but Valjean doesn't approve. He does everything in his power to keep them apart. The heartbrokem Marius joins his radical friend in a political protest. Armed with only 2 guns. Marius gets wounded in the battle at the barricades and Valjean saves him by dragging him through the sewers to his grandfather. But Marius didn't know that it was Valjean saving him.
Marius and Cosette get happily married. But then Valjean tells Marius of his criminal past, and Marius cuts off contact between Cosette and Valjean. Valjean goes and lies in bed , awaiting his death. But after Marius realizes that it was Valjean who saved him during the barricade battle, him and Cosette rush to go see Valjean before he dies. They get there just in time for a final forgiving meeting. Valjean then finally dies in peace.
I think this book was placed on the "Outstanding books for the college bound list" because it had A LOT of difficult words in there that I either had to ask my parents what they meant, use context clues, or look it up in the dictionary. It took me a while to read because I had to keep stopping and figure out what all these words meant.
I would recommend this book to just about anybody. Its got something for everyone. Action, romance, emotion, anybody would want to read this. I really liked this book and would strongly recommend it if you're looking for a book that you can really get into, not just a quick read. Because you really have to pay attention to remember all these people and you have to understand the difficult words in Les Miserables. Or for the people who aren't into reading, its also been made into a movie and a musical. I thought the plot kept you wanting to keep reading. You wanted to know if Valjean would stay good or if he would get caught. It was just a good, well written book!
What made this book outstanding was how the fact that an ex-convict, who everyone hated, turned into this kind, generous man who wanted the best for people. Its inspiring to anybody whos life is just going the way they dont want it to go because it shows that if you really want to change, and are determined to, you can.
Characters:
Jean Valjean- He is an ex-convict who turns his life around after a gracious bishop gives him shelter when no one else would. Valjean steals the bishops silverware, and when the police catch Valjean, the bishop covers for him and makes Valjean promise to be an honest man. Valjean is the adopted father of Cosette and is very protective of her.
Fantine- She was a nice girl who leaves her hometown to go to Paris and she had an affair with a guy named Tholomyes. Her relationship with him left her alone, poor, and pregnant. She is the mother of Cosette. It was difficult for her to get a job because of her illegitimate child ( Cosette ). She then resorted to prostitution to care for Cosette.
Cosette- She is the illegitimate child of Fantine and Tholomyes. Fantine first gives her to the care of the Thenardiers, who abuse Cosette and spoil their other 2 daughters. Valjean buys Cosette from the Thenardiers and they move to a shady place in Paris. She later falls in love with a man named Marius.
Javert- A bitter and pityless police officer who is after Vanjean. He arrests Valjean after Valjean rescued Marius (Cosettes love) from the barricades. Valjean pleads with Javert to let him take the wounded Marius to his grandfather. Javert lets him go and ends up killing himself by jumping into the river and drowning.
Marius- He is a nice young man who is the love of Cosettes life. Valjean saved him in the barricades and pulled his wounded body through the sewers. Valjean then took Marius to his grandfather. Marius and Cosette end up gettiing married. But when Valjean confesses about being an exconvict, Marius prevents Cosette from having any contact with Valjean.
Short Summary: Les Miserables starts out with ex-convict, Valjean, trying to find some shelter but everyone shuts their doors on him. But then a kind bishop gives Valjean his hospitality. When Valjean is caught for stealing the bishops silverware, the bishop covers for him and makes Valjean promise to become a good, honest man.
Meanwhile, Fantine falls in love with a man named Tholomyes who gets her pregnant and then leaves her. Alone with her child (Cosette), Fantine returns to her hometown to realize that she'll never get a job with an illegitimate child. She gives her daughter, Cosette, to the cruel and nasty Thenardiers. Fantine resorts to prostitution to pay for Cosette and is then arrested by Javert. But Valjean gets in the way, Fantine fell ill and wanted to see her daughter, and Valjean promises to get her. But when Javert found out about Valjeans criminal past, he arrests Valjean at Fantines bedside and she dies of shock.
A few years later, Valjean escapes from jail and buys Fantines daughter (Cosette) from the Thenardiers. Valjean and Cosette are forced to go into hiding. One day Cosette falls in love with a man named Marius, but Valjean doesn't approve. He does everything in his power to keep them apart. The heartbrokem Marius joins his radical friend in a political protest. Armed with only 2 guns. Marius gets wounded in the battle at the barricades and Valjean saves him by dragging him through the sewers to his grandfather. But Marius didn't know that it was Valjean saving him.
Marius and Cosette get happily married. But then Valjean tells Marius of his criminal past, and Marius cuts off contact between Cosette and Valjean. Valjean goes and lies in bed , awaiting his death. But after Marius realizes that it was Valjean who saved him during the barricade battle, him and Cosette rush to go see Valjean before he dies. They get there just in time for a final forgiving meeting. Valjean then finally dies in peace.
I think this book was placed on the "Outstanding books for the college bound list" because it had A LOT of difficult words in there that I either had to ask my parents what they meant, use context clues, or look it up in the dictionary. It took me a while to read because I had to keep stopping and figure out what all these words meant.
I would recommend this book to just about anybody. Its got something for everyone. Action, romance, emotion, anybody would want to read this. I really liked this book and would strongly recommend it if you're looking for a book that you can really get into, not just a quick read. Because you really have to pay attention to remember all these people and you have to understand the difficult words in Les Miserables. Or for the people who aren't into reading, its also been made into a movie and a musical. I thought the plot kept you wanting to keep reading. You wanted to know if Valjean would stay good or if he would get caught. It was just a good, well written book!
What made this book outstanding was how the fact that an ex-convict, who everyone hated, turned into this kind, generous man who wanted the best for people. Its inspiring to anybody whos life is just going the way they dont want it to go because it shows that if you really want to change, and are determined to, you can.